


Broken Mask

by Angelchexmex, Salllzy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: M/M, Re-done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-10 19:15:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2036808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelchexmex/pseuds/Angelchexmex, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salllzy/pseuds/Salllzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They both wore masks: masks of cheer and good will. But underneath these masks were two people who no longer knew the meaning of humanity and were only interested in their own intertainment. One came from outside the elemental lands a civilian baker by the name of Urukuro Haru, and the other is a lowly chuunin teacher known as Umino Iruka. When they meet they will find a new play toy in each other, with Konoha caught in the middle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Predator

**Author's Note:**

> Any other stories of mine that were on FF will be moved here but give me a couple of days :)  
> Also this story is in the middle of being completly re-done so sorry to those who read the other version as this is brand new.

He hated them, all of them. With their condescending smiles and eyes that judged him, judged him unworthy, scum, useless, waste of space. Yet he continued to walk among them smiling as they belittled his abilities, laughing as they cruelly tore his life to shreds with mocking words and disdainful glances. He protected them even as they laughed behind his back, and through it all he smiled and nodded, grinned and joked because that was what they expected of him. Defenseless, senseless Iruka, the lowly Chunnin just barely good enough to teach the children. And even as they mocked and crowed they expected him to love this village that had turned its back on him, left him on his own since the death of his parents. It had been because of this village that he had been left an orphan and it was because of this village that he so often thought of the sweet everlasting grasp of death that would hold him in the comforting darkness that meant he never had to wake again.

Everyday he’d wake up and look at the kunai on his bed stand before picking it up and placing the tip just above his wrist, and every day he would shake his head before placing the kunai back in its spot to await the ritual the next morning always hoping for the day he would have the strength to push the kunai into his flesh and see the red of blood before he slept for eternity. But it had yet to happen and, despite his apathy despite his need for release his love for the blackness of sleep and yearning for the cold embrace of Death, he knew it would not happen for a while to come. He would have to wait for the cold bite of steel he so yearned for, he just didn’t know how long.

So he got up in the morning and just before he left his small barren apartment, devoid of pictures or treasures or knickknacks, he would pull up his mask. The same mask he had hidden behind since he saw the Kyuubi tear his parents apart like so much paper. A mask that was not physical like the Hatake’s but a mask of joy and cheer, of contentment and kindness. A mask that hid his thoughts from the rest of the villagers and shinobi alike, this mask that deflected the tortuous words and whispers and looks of everyone around him. He would pull this mask up and walk outside his apartment smiling and whistling and happy to be on his way to the academy while inside he calculated just how long it would take him to get back home, how many more disappointments he would have to live through.

Umino Iruka hadn’t always been a teacher, in fact teaching was the farthest thought from his mind when he first became a genin. Iruka’s specialty had always been infiltration and assassination. He had never been afraid of killing people and in the Bingo books was known as Umino “Doll Face” Iruka, for the empty and emotionless expression he always wore when killing and that was only for the Chuunin missions he went on before becoming one of the elite. He had then become the youngest Hunter in Konoha history and the funniest part was that, other than the Hokage, only Iruka was aware of that. There were some ANBU and Hunter-nin hat were well known through the elemental countries, but that was a sign of incompetence. Any true ANBU and Hunter-nin knew how to keep their identities secret from even the most skilled of ninja, as a result Iruka had been able to retire from the Hunter Forces with no one the wiser, not that retirement had been his choice in the first place; however, there was a rule stating that after ten consecutive years of service a Hunter-nin had to retire, barely anyone knew of this rule though because most ninja in the elite forces pulled out after three years, unable to handle the horrors they were a part of and had witnessed. Iruka had been blindsided when the Hokage demanded he leave the force but had obeyed, like any good ninja would, and found a different job in the regular ninja forces. Becoming a teacher had evolved from the need to make sure others of his caliber were able to take over his job since he had retired, and Iruka figured that the best place to mold ninjas was from the Academy. He would be their first teacher and thus leave the biggest impression behind.

Unfortunately, it seemed that after the Second Shinobi War all of the genin-hopefuls were looking only for glory and recognition, at least all of the civilian born ones. The clan born Academy students were even worse: the Nara who never stayed awake long enough to even hear Iruka’s morning greeting, the Akimichi that was too busy eating to care, the Uchiha too wrapped up in himself, the Yamanaka too interested in the Uchiha to be of any use, and then Uzumaki and Inuzuka always up to their games and pranks but never listening, at least that helped them hone their evasion skills. But not one of them cared to really listen to Iruka’s words or warnings. He wasn’t important enough, strong enough, worthy enough; however, Iruka was all of those things and more. Everyday he had to fight the overwhelming urge to show the brats he taught the horrors he had seen and lived through by their age. Iruka had been the unsung prodigy, and now he was reduced to a simple worker bee. Soon he began to hate teaching.

But above teaching, he had begun to hate the other shinobi who treated him like dirt on their shoes. These Shinobi, whom he was supposed to work with and fight side-by-side with, and yet to them he had less use than the civilians who were told to hide in times of troubles. Even though, if he wanted to, he could kill them all one-by-one without breaking a sweat and only be taken down by Sarutobi-sama himself, but he wouldn't because he was loyal to the Hokage before everything else. Even the genin mocked and ridiculed him because as soon as they left the academy they started on missions and thought themselves so great. They were nothing. They had never experienced war or famine, they knew nothing of the deaths of comrades, the feeling of blood on your hands, and Iruka remembered the warmth that came with blood baths and the beauty and the horror and that numb floating that had always washed over him. The floating he only ever experienced while taking a life and now only ever felt an inkling of when he slept. Sometimes Iruka wondered if he thought of and wanted his own death so much because he was now denied the lives of others.

“Naruto!” Iruka had to remind himself once more that he was not allowed to kill the genin-hopefuls, but the Hokage had never specified how far detentions could go...Iruka pushed the thought away. No, he wasn't allowed to torture his students, but he would have to request a mission sometime soon from the Hokage so he could feel that floating again. He almost felt like an addict at times, waiting for his next fix. “Naruto sit down and pay attention! You too Kiba! There will be no sneaking out of the window in my class!” If they wanted to run away during recess however, that would be a different matter.

Both boy sullenly sat down and Iruka continued his lecture ignoring the snores of the Nar-Shikamaru as best he could, Iruka often had to remind himself not to call the students by their last names because the sweet, innocent mask he wore would never be so cold to the kids. The boy was a genius and Iruka could teach him nothing in this class ,but if he didn't get some sort of motivation soon, the boy would die before he reached Jounin, and he would only make it that far because of his clan’s teachings. Any civilian would be killed as a genin with his attitude. Actually, Iruka doubted that half this class would survive to become Chunin and that was from the fourth that would actually pass their team test given by their Jounin-sensei. The whistling of a projectile sounded behind Iruka and he briefly wondered which student had gotten up the guts to throw an actual senbon at him before realizing the projectile had come from the window. 

Mentally making sure he had cures for all quick acting poisons, Iruka let the senbon slide into his hand and pin it to the chalkboard he had been writing on. Gasps came from the students as Iruka turned his head to look out the window. The students were too caught up in trying to figure out where the senbon had come from to take notice of the bored expression on Iruka’s face. The senbon had been coated in a thin layer of chakra dapening poison, not deadly and would wear off in about two to three days depending on the amount of chakra of the poisoned person. It took less than three seconds for Iruka’s eyes to lock onto the ninja who had thrown the senbon, Temari if he wasn't mistaken. A genin told to practice and choosing Iruka as a target. This wasn't the first time and Iruka knew it was far from the last. Instead of shouting or something of the like, Iruka simply pulled the senbon from his hand and continued his speech. The students, who had only seen something woosh by and had looked out the window instead of watched it impale Iruka’s hand, assumed it had simply been the wind and not a senbon as they had first thought. Briefly Iruka wondered if any of these kids would survive past genin before throwing away the thought, it didn't matter to him.

Class after that was routine and Iruka found himself running through every jutsu he knew and quietly contemplating the different ways to incapacitate or kill all of those around him. He also made a mental note to work more on mental discipline, he had become aggravated today with the kids and, though no one had noticed, it was a large slip on Iruka’s part. The aggravation had been slight, but the fact that Iruka had felt anything at all was very telling. Umino “Doll Face” Iruka was never supposed to feel anything. 

Later, working at the Mission’s Desk, Iruka felt the first true crack in his mask since his first years of wearing it. When he would contemplate the crack later he would realize that he should have seen something of the sort coming, had seen it coming in truth but had allowed denial to wash away the truth. Such mistakes could get even the best ninja killed or worse, captured. 

“Iruka!” Said ninja’s head swung up as the paper-work shinobi seemed to search for the source of the sound, but in truth Iruka had seen the Chuunin before she had called his name. She was Toroushi Sakai, a chuunin of only three months after five years and six point two months as a gennin under the instruction of Jounin Yashou Kanani who still had one gennin of the original three on his team and was a defector from Kirigakure. From what Iruka remembered of Toroushi, she was incredible with head on fights and deadly jutsus but lacked in the infiltration department, she was a front lines shinobi and meant for protection not deception. She had also been on a two month escort mission to Buson in Tea protecting a princess of… Iruka was almost positive it was Aoi Island. “My mission report.” The woman, still a girl really because for all she had killed she had never been forced to the limits of her abilities and accepted her imminent death while giving her last just to complete a mission, practically beamed at Iruka as a dog would after bringing the mail for their owner, looking for a pat on the head and a reward. She was easier to deal with because, even though she seemed to see Iruka as someone to come back to for praise and not a fighter, she never out right ridiculed him, but Iruka still saw her belief in him as a desk only ninja to be insulting and naïve.

“A shinobi that actually bothers to do their paper work on time.” Iruka beamed, just as he knew she wanted. “Thank you, Toroushi-san.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Sakai?” She questioned as if asking a very young child.

“At least one more.” Iruka replied just like he always did and Sakai let out an exasperated huff that blew brilliantly orange hair from her face. Sakai always had a bit of hair hanging in her face for all of her attempts to keep it back in a ponytail and catch the smaller bits with her Hitai-ate. Other than her hair, the only significant difference between her appearance and other chuunin were the dozen or so tiny gourds filled with water around her waist which she used for her jutsu, many of which were based on the jutsus of rogue mist-shinobi she had encountered or heard of. All told she was a rather unassuming shinobi until she attacked, a good trait for all shinobi. The shinobi that underestimates their opponent is the shinobi that dies.

“Don’t bother trying to teach him something new.” Satani Nakine: Chuunin of one year, spent three year as a gennin under Pazawa Ganisa, trained for tracking, fours kills associated with his name, one failed mission, not in the Bingo Book. “You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks. But hes not too old, must be something wrong with his head!” Satani laughed, not seeing the dangerous glint in Sakai’s eyes or the subtle shifting of Iruka’s body that would have alerted any Jounin or above ninja to an imminent attack. 

“Don’t insult the kid.” Hininza Yorui: one year tokubetsu-jounin, rejected from ANBU twice and Hunter Forces once, current jounin-sensei of a team being trained for seduction missions, mentioned in the Bingo Books as a student of the “Flee on Site” shinobi Youto Tetani. “He’s too dumb to appreciate it!” 

Sakai moved before Iruka could put on his usual senseless smile, and blood. A thin trickle of the red fluid slid down Satani’s face, and the chuunin seemed absolutely shocked. Iruka guessed he was more shocked because of the thousands of tiny holes in the wall behind him that all would have skewered his body if it wasn’t for Hininza pulling him out of the way than the fact that he was bleeding slightly from a thin cut above his left eye. Even Iruka had to admit that the jutsu was rather impressive. If Iruka hadn’t seen the hand slip down to uncork one of the gourds around Sakai’s waist even he might not have expected the type of attack, though he would have expected some type attack given the woman’s stance and killing intent. 

The other shinobi that had been milling about simply sighed at the damaged wall and continued on their way, it would be left to Iruka to clean up. “Sakai!” Iruka called out in false alarm. “You could have hurt someone!” 

Instantly the woman, still a girl in civilian society at the age of sixteen, became shame-faced and looked towards the ground guilty. “I’m sorry Iruka. They just kept saying stupid shit and it got me mad.”

“It’s alright.” Iruka comforted keeping tabs on the two potentially hostile ninja still too close for comfort. “Thank you for protecting me but words can’t do any harm.” Sakai huffed but nodded her head even as she glared at the two ninja who quickly scuttled from the room. Worthless shinobi to let their fear become so evident. 

“Hey! You called me Sakai!” The orange haired shinobi exclaimed in excitement, forgetting any dark emotions that had been plaguing her just moments before. 

“I have no idea what you mean Toroushi-san.” Iruka replied as he began looking through her mission report. Sakai huffed but gave Iruka a smile and left. It wasn’t too bad a day all told, but then the day wasn’t over and Iruka knew better than to hope for anything.

Iruka was proven right not even seven minutes after his shift at the Mission’s Desk ended: Satani and Hininza used the gas form of a highly toxic knock-out drug to decapacitate Iruka. If it had been any other day, one where Iruka hadn’t been affected by a chakra dampening poison earlier, Iruka wouldn’t have had any trouble noticing and incapacitating the two shinobi before they could reach him, but as it was Iruka was only able to make it four meters before he succumbed to unconsciousness. 

Around four hours later, or so Iruka was guessing from the position of the moon which had replaced the sun, the young chuunin teacher woke up with both hands tied behind his back and all of his fingers broken to prevent him from using any jutsu. HIs first instinct was to assume he had been captured by enemy shinobi and was about to be interrogated, but then he remembered Satani and Hininza and began to notice something familiar about the trees. The moment he noticed the giant centipede crawling towards him, Iruka realized where he was: The Forest of Death. 

Cataloguing the rest of his body as quickly as he could, Iruka realized that his weapon pouch had been taken but that everything else he had on him was still there. Good, Iruka had a couple of scrolls filled with extra weapons and medical equipment. He would be able to make it our of the Forest of Death alive. ‘Possibly,’Iruka added in his own mind but the thought brought with it no fear or hesitation. If he died, he died. No benefit in worrying over his possible demise, and besides that Iruka had been looking for something, preferably someone but Iruka wasn’t picky, to kill.

The ropes themselves were easy enough to get out of, a dislocated thumb and a little bit of skin lost and Iruka was free from the bonds. Unfortunately, now that Iruka was bleeding he would become a much easier target to find by the creatures living in the forest. 

Instead of ignoring the pain in his fingers, as most shinobi would have, Iruka embraced it. Allowing the pain to warm his frozen mind and kick start it into action. The pain of the fight was half the fun after all. Swallowing down a moan at the pain he felt, Iruka pulled one of the scrolls from his vest and flicked it open before pushing some of his chakra into it, making a set of four kunai pop into existence. The scrolls iruka used were specifically designed for discretion and were about the size of his pinky finger and didn’t produce any smoke when used. They were a good deal more expensive than regular scrolls but worth the cost. 

Hooking two of the kunai onto his waist he slipped the scroll back in his chest pocket and held the other two kunai at the ready, the centipede creature wasn’t quick enough to actually hurt him but Iruka had no doubt that soon something much more dangerous would find him in the forest. With that knowledge in mind, Iruka took to the trees as he carefully fixed the grip he had on his kunai. With his broken fingers it was hard to hold anything, but with a bit of rather disturbing distortion he was able to make sure the kunai would stay in his hands when he fought. 

The next few hours were a blood bath. Giant insects and gorillas and savage blood sucking plants, Iruka was in heaven. The blood and pain and death cloaked him and warmed him as nothing else in this life could. Umino “Doll Face” Iruka was always apathetic, except when his life was on the line. Only then did his true colors show. Iruka lived for the moment when he was able to take a life, breathed for the blood he would shed and thought only of the next battle he would be allowed to participate in. The shinobi could ridicule him all they liked because iruka had this. this wonderful floating, warm feeling that came from fighting for his life and pushing his body beyond all its limits. The pain and the thrill all mixed together to make Iruka feel as if he were flying. Like this nothing could stop him, Umino Iruka was in his element. 

In the end, Iruka barely made it out of the forest alive. Blood ran down his legs from a gas in his side delivered by a tarantula like creature and a hole in his shoulder could be attributed to a giant mosquito that had tried to make him into lunch, his shattered kneecap (which was being held together by the small amount of chakra Iruka could use) had been the result of a tumble with a giant carnivorous vine of some sort which had also spilled some sort of digestive liquid on his back and burned quite a bit of flesh away as well as destroying Iruka’s shirt and vest, which he luckily had extras of in a small scroll inside his shoe. 

The vicious plant had almost caused Iruka to lose the scroll in his jacket and shirt, and while Iruka had more scroll hidden in his pants and shoes, the lost items would have been hard to replace. The wounds on his back were slightly inconvenient, and, now that Iruka was actively thinking on it, he would have to rewrap the wound soon. While Iruka always carried around basic medical supplies with him, it would be best to head back to his apartment soon for better antiseptics, but Iruka had no plans to take pain pills. Right now the chuunin had the floating feeling he had been craving for months and the pain only helped it last longer, but then so did alcohol. 

It wasn’t the best idea for Iruka to get drunk, well as drunk as he would allow himself, but sometimes Iruka was able to justify it to himself. Keeping his floaty feeling so that he wouldn’t be tempted to kill the citizens or shinobi of Konoha in an effort to feel like he was flying seemed a perfectly acceptable reason to Iruka. Which was why he was currently drinking far more whiskey than was recommended for healthy living.

“Are you drunk?” The question shocked Iruka as he hadn’t expected the man to ask him anything. He had seen the small man, Iruka had determined after a moment that he was indeed a legal adult and the lack of height most likely came from malnourishment, come up to him but had expected a civilian wanting to come gawk at one of the less terrifying shinobi, even in a hidden village like Konohagakure such things sometimes happened. However, as Iruka looked up and his milk chocolate eyes met harlequin green orbs that almost seemed to glow in the low lighting of the bar Iruka was reminded of Sakai: The Shinobi that underestimates their opponent is the shinobi that dies. “You seem to be having a good time with it.” The stranger stated sitting on the other side of the table from Iruka grinning. Black-blue hair was pulled up in a high ponytail while the top of his head was completely covered in an emerald green bandana that also concealed the stranger’s left eye and forehead. He wore no hitai-ate so he was no ninja yet the way he moved seemed far too predatory for him to be a civilian, Iruka briefly entertained the idea of a spy before tossing that away as well: The man moved in a way that showed he wasn’t in hiding and, while he was definitely a predator, the man was tightly leashed by something. The man’s clothing wasn’t wasn’t the regular civilian garb either, instead he was fitted in black leggings and an imperial red mesh shirt that did nothing to hide his scars. Scars which wrapped around the man’s torso like thick ropes or thin barely their lines broken up by od exploding scar tissue and one rather savage looking old wound that was centered slightly below his heart and was laced with black lines. It almost looked like the man had blood poisoning, but if that was the case he would have already gotten treated for it.

“You’re no civilian.” Iruka offered the bottle of whiskey, because he never trusted alcohol that wasn’t opened in front of him, to the stranger as he made that statement.

“I’m not.” The man agreed turning down the drink and pulling out a flask. “But then neither are you.” 

“You’re not a shinobi either.” Iruka continued studying the man more closely. Who ever he was had come to iruka knowing that the chuunin was a dangerous predator. As a result Iruka felt no need to pull up his mask, why bother hiding something they both already knew anyway. 

“Nope,” he popped the P and then took a swig of whatever liquid was in his flask. “The name is Urukuro Haru by the way.”

“Umino Iruka,” the chuunin replied carelessly as he went back to studying Urukuro-san. “You weren’t born in Konoha, or in Fire country for that matter. You’ve fought for a long time and arent afraid of killing.” It was all in the way Urukuro held himself. He moved like a predator and a predator wasn’t afraid to kill or worse to keep himself safe. It seemed Iruka might have found something worth his interest.

“I believe you are too drunk to have this conversation Umino-san.” Urukuro commented and they both knew it was a lie. The only question now was whether or not Iruka was willing to give this man the upper hand by allowing their conversation to take place on his territory, and while injured. Well, Iruka had always thought he might be suicidal, time to put that to the test.

“I think I am. Will you help me out of here?” Urukuro smirked as he stood and gave Iruka a ‘helping hand’.

“Of course,” Urukuro flashed a small needle at Iruka and immediately the chuunin knew what this man wanted. He wanted to drug Iruka so that the ninja wouldn’t remember where his apartment was. 

Iruka stared at the needle for a moment before his lips twitched and he nodded. His curiosity was definitely worth the risk of death. He had been bored for so very long and now that he could possibly have a new toy, and a dangerous one at that, Iruka wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity. The last thing he saw was a scar on the back of the stranger’s hand that read: I must not tell lies.


	2. Pet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look it wasnt abandoned! I know I'm surprised too :)  
> But hey things keep moving and another chapter has come! Hope you like it.

Urukuro Haru had been watching Umino Iruka for a little over a year when he finally decided it was time to approach the chunnin. Haru had noticed the man the first time when Naruto, a young orphan boy Haru had been periodically looking after ever since he first came to Konoha, successfully hid from a team of ANBU only to be easily found by his sensei, Umino Iruka. The ease with which the ninja had found Naruto was impressive and Haru had become intrigued, so few things were able to catch his attention so even the slightest chance that the chunnin sensei might be different had sparked a near obsession in Haru.

For the next year, Haru had watched the brown haired man, had seen his slip ups, little as they were, and watched his normal interactions. The chunnin’s mask was almost as perfect as Haru’s a mask that did not shift to accommodate everyone encountered, as eventually someone would notice an inconsistency in personality and beliefs, but instead a mask that pandered to the widest population while still having at least one trait that was unliked by everyone. Because no one liked every aspect of a person and if that did come about complications would arise, such as someone forming an emotional attachment to the mask being worn and through it a false bond with the person behind the disguise.

But Iruka’s mask, like all, had its cracks. The sensei was far too quick at catching Naruto, sometimes he would have to stop his words when another ninja asked him a question and pretend he didn’t know the answer, and above all, Iruka had noticed Haru tailing him. Something that had shocked him, after all Haru had lived through far worse than what Iruka could ever see, so for Iruka to notice that Haru was following him? 

Haru had to give Iruka points for that, after all most people didn’t see him coming until it was too late and by then he had already slit their throats and they were bleeding to death. OR sometimes he just liked to toy with them, tripping them up or moving a branch or leaf. When his Tousan or uncle really let him play he would spend days driving his target insane until the man or woman would twitch at the slightest sound and sometimes they would even simply off themselves instead of Haru having to do it for them. 

In the beginning Haru was almost positive he was just being paranoid, a large possibility given Haru’s background and family, but it was his paranoia that had helped him live through a war and anything that helped him survive was something Haru cultivated. So the man had turned his paranoia into a game, he would leave traps around the village and see if anyone could disarm them and sometimes he would lock the memories of where those traps were to see if he would fall for his own game. When he sprung a trap and either dodged or was hit, the memory would pop back into his head. If he had successfully escaped the trap before it could catch or harm him Haru spent time trying to perfect the trap, and if he couldn’t escape or evade the trap then the ex-soldier would spend hours training himself to be better.

How though Haru had a pet that could play with him. Perhaps they could set traps for each other and then keep a tally and whoever won got something? Haru happily hummed at the thought of entertainment and a chance against a real opponent as he worked on fixing up his newly acquired pet. The man might not know that he had signed his life over to Haru the moment that he agreed to let Haru knock him out but that didn’t matter. Haru had found a pet and now he was determined to keep it. Even if that meant coloring the man and keeping him chained in Haru’s appartement until Iruka learned to come back home every so often. Hopefully though Iruka would be alike a cat and know to come back to Haru instead of a dog that needed to be taught. 

Most would find Haru’s logic twisted and cruel, they would probably call him a madman. Haru however, preferred to think of himself as someone who saw all sides of the world. For him there was no good or bad, mad or sane, dark or light. The world was filled with a hundred and one shades of grey because things like right and wrong had always been, and always would be, subjective. He had found that out the hard way during the war when people had began classing certain healing spells as Dark even though they were saving lives, nearly 300 lives had been lost because something had been classed as ‘Dark’ rather than grey. 

Still even those that were grey were sometimes shunned because they didn't fall into either category, they were their own they could see the world for what it really was. They could look at things and see what was really going on behind the scenes, they could pull you apart then put you back together again and no one would be able to notice. He had studied both ‘Light’ and ‘Dark’ magic and couldn't see that much of a difference between either magic, because there wasn't one at all. Intentions were everything and even then depending on who was analyzing the situation it could either be ‘dark’ or ‘light’. Wars are written by the victors and so of course everyone thinks the heros always triumph, the winner is the hero because he is a hero to his own people. 

Haru could be cold and cruel should the situation call for it, but for the most part he was broken something that he knew. A fact of life that he didn't change because he couldn't, that wasn't to say that he didn't want to change it. A part of him truly did want to go back to the naive child he had been so long ago, and yet he wouldn’t change his own actions, those of other people however he would twist, remove, or add in a heartbeat. But there was no use dwelling on things that had long since passed, it wasn't like he could change it now. He could try and change but he had found that there was no real reason to, he had no one who he wanted to change for, he had no one other than his uncle and Tousan and his little orphan child that cared for him and they loved him just the way that he was so he saw no real need in ever trying. Besides, in this world everyone was at least a little bit broken. The ninja especially had cracks running through them, but none quite like Iruka and him. They were two of a kind in a big box of broken toys, and really aru couldn’t find himself wanting it any other way. Now that he had a pet just like him. any lingering wish for change was gone.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be kind or caring, he could be. Otherwise why would he have taken in his small loving and hyperactive chibi? A chibi by all accounts he should hate, but Haru didn’t, sure the kid drove him up the wall with all of his questions and being so hyper active, but the kid couldn’t help it. Haru couldn’t really blame him either, after all anyone with that much chakra must find it difficult to sit still for even a minute. The kid practically had chakra pouring out his eyeballs and when Haru had been younger he remembered that same energy bubbling up in him. He, however, had the Dursley’s to teach him how to stay still and quiet. Not to mention the fact that the chibi had grown on him, and Haru couldn’t find it in his broken heart to chase the chibi away, not when he was one of three things keeping him from going on a killing spree. If his family didn’t bloody love this village so much then the damned thing would no longer be standing. Really it was just mortar, bricks, and people, you could find that anywhere. But his loved ones would protect the place to their deaths and by association so would Haru.

 

Ignoring his sudden itch for a good blood bath, Haru began brushing his pets hair and contemplating how best to train the man. By no means did the ex-soldier want a pacifistic little thing as his pet, he wanted a pet that would fight and bite and kill. Umino Iruka seemed the perfect person but truly only time would tell. In the end Haru might be forced to kill Iruka, but Haru really did not want to do that. Iruka was a rare specimen and would be hard to replace, not impossible but very, very hard.

Not that Haru wouldn’t love his pet very much. If Iruka proved to be a good pet then Haru would treat him just like family and Haru was loyal beyond death to his family. No sacrifice was too big for Haru to make when it came to his loved ones. He would even take that blasted fox from Naruto should his chibi ever ask it of him. No child should have to suffer through that, well no child of Haru’s any other child could shove off for all Haru cared, and the wizard was still pissed and the damned bastards that had sealed such a thing into his Naruto-chan. And how had they gotten it in there anyhow? Seemed a mighty tight fit for something with so much chakra to fit in such a tiny thing like Naruto, once the kid’s chakra coils got bigger perhaps it would work but when Naruto had been just a babe it had to of hurt. Perhaps even done some sort of damage, not that Haru had found any so far. 

Not to mention the atrocity they called a seal on the chibi’s stomach. Sure it did its job and rather well at that but the seal could be weakened with enough work and knowledge. Why not create something that allowed Naruto to freely use the nine-tail’s chakra and connect both of their lives but not minds? That way the fox would have to behave if he wanted to live and Naruto would only have to talk to the thing if he wanted, though Haru supposed the seal now kept their minds separate enough. But not having the Kyuubi’s chakra was a major disadvantage for Naruto and in a world literally based on war, well Naruto needed all the advantages he could get. 

Haru would, of course, protect said chibi should the need arise, and he had done so more than once. He could remember slitting open the throat of a man that had beaten his little chibi, a death far too quick for the monster, but Naruto had been afraid Haru had had to comfort him. There had been another time where Haru had been able to take his time, driving the disgusting thing that dared call itself human to madness through a mix of brands, knives, salt, wood chips, and a little magic. 

Haru had actually killed his fair share of civilians and shinobi alike within his first few days of taking care of the little chibi, there hadn’t been any bodies to find. But Haru’s Tousan found out anyway and confronted him about the reason behind the killings. His Tousan maybe old but the man was far from stupid or blind, he was the Hokage for a reason. He had laid down a few rules that Haru had to obey concerning the deaths of shinobi and civilians, and Haru followed them...most of the time. Sometimes something happened to Naruto and Haru just had to break those rules, his Tousan was never very happy with him afterwards but the chibi was Haru’s. Naruto was everything that Haru had never been and, call him selfish, but he wanted to see that innocence in those eyes stay there. Haru knew, however, that very soon that innocence would leave Naruto so Haru hoped he could at least keep his chibi from becoming as broken as him. 

Haru’s uncle, Danzo, had, in opposition to Haru’s Tousan, been rather proud of Haru. The war hawk had patted Haru on the back then gave him a couple of pointers on how to make his victims suffer more and better ways to clean up afterwards. That had led to a rather long talk with Haru’s Tousan about not driving shinobi insane and then setting them loose because of dangers to the village etc. etc. Haru hadn’t really been paying too much attention to it. Besides the tips and been his Uncle’s way of showing affection.

Haru smiled affectionately as he finally finished brushing his new pets hair, his uncle may not be the whole touchy-feely type and had more layers than an onion, but the war hawk was still his uncle and he was still family. Hence why Danzo killed and tortured the assassin from Cloud that had tried to kill Haru a few weeks ago the old war hawk had enjoyed gutting the spineless bastard for daring to try and harm his family. It had been one of two times that the Hokage and Danzo had agreed on something, not because the assassin was from Cloud and had tried to kill a civilian, and man did Haru hate being called a civilian and seen as weaker but it was useful, but rather send a message.

‘Don't mess with us and if you do, do NOT mess with Haru.’ 

Haru liked to think that the message was received and understood, because there hadn't been any more assassins from Cloud looking to kill him. the message hadnt seemed to reach the other villages though because there had been at least a dozen in the last month coming after him. Haru had dispatched those on his own though, no need for his already over protective family to go manic about things. It seemed that quite a few merchants and bakers wanted his recipes and the hidden villages had yet to learn not to take those missions. And even if Haru was killed all of his things would go to his Tousan, uncle, and chibi. The recipes were well guarded with magic and upon his death would be split evenly and transported to his family. 

Haru smiled as he thought about the ‘play’ session that he had with one of the very unfortunate assassins that had tried to kill him, it had been bloody and grizzly. But still it had been fun to have a plaything for a while, but then his uncle had wanted to ‘speak’ to the man. Haru wasn’t blind he had saw the blood that was splattered against the dark jacket that his uncle wore, the dried blood had made the area a shade darker than what the rest of the material. Still the smirk that had been passed between the two of them had the man whimpering in fear, everyone knew his uncle was bad but the two of them together was worse than either of them alone. There was reason his uncle had a flee-onsite order in the bingo books.

And since Haru knew a blood replenishing potion as well, it meant the fun could go on for weeks. Torture time was bonding time between them, and Haru really needed to find someone else to torture. The two family members hadn’t spent such time together in a while, it was past due.

“Are you done thinking?” Haru blinked twice and looked down to meet Iruka’s open eyes. The ex-soldier had known the man was awake of course, but had hoped he would keep quiet until Haru was done reminiscing and thinking. It was rude to interrupt.

“Bad,” Haru huffed boping Iruka on the nose. The man needed to learn some manners.

“That was unnecessary.” Iruka states, eyes blank and voice emotionless but Haru can see that behind those brown eyes the man’s brain is working hard to figure out Haru’s game. 

“I found it very necessary. My pet cannot have bad manners.” Loose black-blue hair trailed over Iruka’s face and Haru pulled back. Pushing his hair behind his ears and slipping out from under Iruka’s head. The other shinobi sat up and Haru silently wondered how what the man’s reaction would be to his words.

“Who says you’re not the pet?” The shinobi finally questions and Haru replies with a brilliant smile. 

“I do,” Is the only reply the man gets, but instead of getting angry Iruka just shrugs and looks around Haru’s apartment. The room they are in is rather eclectic, Iruka was sitting on a couch he swears is the exact shade of Naruto’s clothes but the plush rug under his feet is a deep blue with black interwoven in it and each of the three walls, the other leads into a kitchen, are painted three different colors. The one directly behind the baffled shinobi was a soft pink, to the left of that was a neon purple, and directly across from Iruka the wall looked like a rainbow had thrown up on it, with glitter. Standing in front of the rainbow-glitter wall was Haru, in a black-mesh shirt and flowing black pants. Haru had to fight to keep his expression serious at the almost incredulous look on his pet’s face. Oh how precious his pet is!

“Okay,” but Haru could see the cunning in his pet’s eyes. Iruka wasn’t going to lay down and show his stomach to Haru in defeat. A fight would come and Haru couldn’t wait for it, the excitement was bubbling up in his stomach already. “What do you want?” The emotionless tone aggravated Haru slightly. Sure Haru could be as empty as Iruka but the wizard prefered to just let his emotions run wild instead, at least when it was safe to do so. 

“I’m so bored.” Haru huffed slightly. “And you, you have that same mask on that I wear. Not right now, but when you’re out in public. It’s thrilling to see someone else with it, absolutely breath taking.” Haru shuddered slightly his eyes bright and burning. He absolutely adored seeing that mask on someone else, it was incredible.

“You realize you’re insane?” Iruka questioned, not incredulously but asking. THe man really did seem to want to know if Haru was aware of his own insanity.

“I’m actually not quite sure.” Haru replied thoughtfully. “I believe myself to be insane but people who are mad don’t think they are do they? So am I really insane? But if I’m not sure doesn’t that mean its all the more likely? So yes I believe myself to be insane but at the same time am not quite sure. Decide yourself. Then again the insanity you believe to see in me is the same that runs through your veins is it not? I can see it in your eyes, the same cold calculation mixed with a lust for blood and destruction. Ice and fire living together in the oddest sort of harmony. Its intoxicating isn’t it?” By the end Haru’s eyes are bright with enthusiasm and he practically trembles with the feeling he puts into his words, manic and energetic. 

“And damaging,” is the only reply and Haru lets out a soft snort of amusement. 

“True,” Haru replies and then switches the subject. He is serious all day when not alone and now that there is someone new he can let go with, because really he can’t bother his Tousan and Uncle all the time, Haru doesn’t want to have a serious conversation. He just wants to be free of the restrictions of normal society. “Do you want to eat something? I made food and some pastries.”

Haru was already heading to the kitchen without Iruka’s reply and so the shinobi followed him. The kitchen was done in all reds. Ranging from the softest pink to a shade so dark it seemed nearly black. This was Haru’s domain, he loved being in his kitchen. The safety offered to him here and the serenity were invaluable. 

“Who are you?” Iruka questioned as he sat on one of the imperial red stools that surrounded the ruby island in the middle of the kitchen. It looked as if it was actually carved of rubies and though the legs were obviously some kind of vaguely red wood. 

Haru didn’t pause as he thought over the question, hands preparing the pre-cooked meal he had. All that needed to be done was add everything together and serve it, but Haru always gave his full attention to the food when he cooked, and so waited until he had served both himself and his new pet before speaking. “I am Haru, I am civilian, I am baker,” The words were easy enough to say. He was all those things, but he was so much more and the more is what Iruka was looking for. So Haru locked eyes with Iruka and continued. “I am gone, I am broken, I am whole, I am shadow, I am you.” 

Those last three words seemed to hang in the air, thickening it with meaning and a profound sense of something, something so deep neither man could find themselves willing to break whatever was being made. But, like all things, the moment passed and the feeling in the air was gone as if it had never been, and perhaps it never had been. With two so lonely as them, perhaps what they had felt was simply the yearning for someone else like them, the desperate need for the two of them to share some sort of connection and thus making one between them that didn’t exist. Haru, however, would cling to that feeling of comradery to save what little sanity he had left. He would either fool himself into believing something was there when it wasn’t, cling to the true and tangible connection between them, or simply fall and crumble into nothingness. By far the best option was to cling to whatever may lie between the two warriors, be it true or false. 

“And you Iruka? Who are you?” 

Iruka chewed and swallowed, his face as blank as last night when the two had first officially met. Haru would have to work on that, making Iruka show and acknowledge his emotions. Because, as interesting as Iruka’s apathy was, seeing an array of emotions across the man’s face would be far more entertaining and that was why Haru had done all of this in the first place, entertainment. 

“I am Iruka, I am teacher, I am ninja,” and the pause again. First things listed were the knows, the obvious. Now would be perhaps a bit deeper, if still guessed at, answers. “I am bored, I am empty, I am broken, I am you.” And that was the acknowledgement Haru had been waiting for. Iruka would play along, pretend there was something deep and meaningful in their meeting of each other. Perhaps it was true, perhaps they really did have something between them that could lead to great things and deep, beautiful emotions, but in the end all that mattered is that they would pretend that it was the truth. Because in the end the only difference between reality and fiction is what you believe.


End file.
